Milestones, storylines and more ahead of the Lions away match at Columbus in the Open Cup in "The Road Ahead":
Milestones
- Antoine Griezmann can become the first player in Orlando City history to score in six consecutive matches if he notches a goal against Columbus on Wednesday night.
- Orlando City can reach its third final in the club’s MLS era with a result against Columbus (2020 MLS is Back Tournament, 2022 U.S. Open Cup). The Lions can also earn their first four-game winning streak across all competitions since August 2-16, 2025.
- MartÃn Ojeda needs three goals (all competitions) to tie Facundo Torres’ Orlando City club record of 47 career tallies. Ojeda is three assists away from Mauricio Pereyra’s club record, also 47.
- Daryl Dike’s next goal will be his 22nd for the club, tying former teammate Chris Mueller for ninth on the Lions’ all-time scoring list.Â
- Marco Pašalić is two goals away from 20 for the club across all competitions, three behind Dike.
Stats & Storylines
- Antoine Griezmann struck for the fifth straight match on Saturday, setting a new Orlando City single-season record for consecutive MLS regular-season games with a goal as the Lions cruised to a 3-0 win over Toronto FC. Griezmann has scored seven times in his last five games, over which Orlando is 4W-0L-1D. The 2018 World Cup champion is up to 8g/3a in just 10 MLS appearances, the most productive start to an Orlando City player’s career all-time .
- Homegrown attacker Justin Ellis provided an assist for the fourth consecutive game, though this one was not to his usual strike partner Griezmann but to Iván Angulo, who scored for the second straight game. The 19-year-old is up to 3g/11a in 24 appearances in all competitions in 2026.
- Rookie attacker Harvey Sarajian had the substitute appearance of a lifetime Saturday. Entering with 10 minutes to go and the score at 1-0, Sarajian scored his first MLS goal after spinning through multiple lines of pressure and finishing off a give-and-go with Daryl Dike. He then kickstarted the play that ended in the Angulo goal in stoppage time, picking up a secondary assist, also his first in MLS.Â
- Since the World Cup, Orlando City is 7W-3L-3D with a +9 goal differential across all competitions and has risen from twelfth to sixth in the Eastern Conference.
- Orlando City turns its attention back to the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup for a pivotal semifinal matchup with the Columbus Crew. The run started on April 15 when the Lions dispatched USL League One side Naples FC 1-0 on the road thanks to a Tyrese Spicer golazo. The Round of 16 featured a wild 4-3 thriller in Rhode Island against the New England Revolution in which Orlando erased three separate deficits before Zakaria Taifi scored the winner in second-half stoppage time. City then eased into the semis with a 4-1 blowout win over Atlanta United in the quarterfinals.
- 2026 marks Orlando’s third U.S. Open Cup semifinals appearance in club history. The Lions fell 2-0 to Atlanta in 2019, but redeemed themselves with a famous 5-1 stomping of Red Bull New York en route to winning it all in 2022.
Series History
All-time vs. Columbus - 11-9-6, +1 GD (3-5-3, -2 GD away)
2015 - L 3-0 (A), D 2-2 (H), W 2-0 (H/USOC), W 5-2 (H)
2016 - D 2-2 (A), L 1-4 (H)
2017 - L 2-0 (A), D 1-1 (H), L 0-1 (H)
2018 - L 3-2 (A), W 2-1 (H)
2019 - W 0-2 (A), W 1-0 (H)
2020 - W 2-1 (H)
2021 - W 3-2 (H), L 3-2 (A)
2022 - W 0-2 (A), W 2-1 (H)
2023 - D 2-2 (A), W 4-3 (H), L 0-2 (H/MLS Cup Playoffs)
2024 - L 0-2 (H), L 4-3 (A)
2025 - W 1-3 (A), D 1-1 (H)
2026 - D 1-1 (A)
Meet the opponent: Columbus Crew
- Orlando City last tussled with Columbus on April 12, a 1-1 draw on Sunday Night Soccer that saw Robin Jansson make his 2026 debut after a prolonged injury absence. The Lions are unbeaten in three against the Crew over the past two seasons, including a 3-1 win last year at ScottsMiracle-Gro Field last July.
- Columbus has endured a difficult 2026. The Crew parted ways with new head coach Henrik Rydström after just 16 matches in the spring and have yet to really kick on under interim boss Laurent Courtois, sitting fourth from the bottom in the Supporters’ Shield standings on just 23 points. Columbus has lost six of its last seven games in MLS play.
- The Crew did earn their way to the semifinals back in the spring, though, and the Open Cup represents a major opportunity to lift a trophy in an otherwise disappointing season. Columbus faced lower division sides in each of the first two rounds, seeing off the Richmond Kickers (3-0) and One Knoxville SC (4-1) before encountering New York City FC in the quarterfinals. The Crew won that game 1-0 thanks to a goal from United States men’s national teamer Max Arfsten, who has since departed the club for Middlesbrough FC in the English Championship.
- Columbus made major changes to the roster in the transfer window, selling Arfsten and swapping out two Designated Players. Out went Diego Rossi (Monterrey) and Dániel Gazdag (New England), and in their place came Brais Méndez (Real Sociedad) and SantÃago RodrÃguez (Botafogo). Méndez has been a bright spot, notching 4g/4a in all competitions since arriving, while RodrÃguez scored a goal in each of his first two games for the club on September 5 and 9, respectively.
